Black Sun, Gold Moon
by BunniShinigamiChan
Summary: Okay, here we go again! This fic has been heavily modified. Not finished yet, but the first four chapters are up. Just a fic-version of the game with an original character to join the group! Things are getting weird now... R
1. Prologue

Notes: Okay, this fic was started a good while back (actually, I started this before I got the game ^^, so major changes had to be made. Anyways, this first chapter is like the thingys you go through with Brad, Ashley, and Lilka in the beginning of the game. (more like Brad's since this chapter takes place a few years back.)  
  
1  
  
2 Prologue  
  
Four years ago…  
  
It was a warm summer evening over the Filgaia Plains. Everything was quiet until an airship coming from Slayheim slowly flew into the area surrounding the Town of Meria. The ship, completely torn and ragged, violently crashed somewhere between Meria and the Valeria Chateau. By morning, there were no survivors left…except one. Trapped under the wreckage was a thirteen-year-old girl…The only one to survive out of the fifty people on board.  
  
"Ugh…Where am I? Who am I? What is all this?" she said to herself. She tried, but remembered nothing about where or who she was, or anything! Her head throbbed in pain. Then, a name slowly came to her mind. "Jahara…Sanzami? Is that my name?" She looked around and saw nothing but bloody wreckage and broken equipment. She pulled herself up walked a little ways through the rubble. She clumsily tripped over something under a jagged slab of mangled steel. She looked under her bleeding leg and saw a long gold staff with a dark blue crystal sphere held on top by four long silver spikes. "Ow! What was that!? My leg…I want to go home--wherever that is…" she moaned. Jahara picked up the staff, used it as a support to stay up, and managed to drag herself across the plain towards Meria. She collapsed, unconscious, after an hour or so…  
  
Two hours later, a small mercs group was sent from Meria to help clean up the rubble of the wreckage and look for survivors. After searching the area, they fanned out to look for survivors that may have wandered off. One of the mercs found the blood trail that Jahara had left behind.  
  
"Hey! Over here! Come look at this!" he yelled. They all decided to follow it. The trail led to young Jahara.  
  
"She's still alive, but in critical condition! We have to get her back to town immediately!" They all loaded back up in the truck and headed back for town…  
  
She woke up three days later in a medical clinic located in the Town of Meria. She woke up to see a boy with short, spiky blue hair, about her age, picking up the laundry in the corner of the room.  
  
"Uhh…oww…" she groaned. The boy turned around and put the laundry in a basket. He walked over to the side of the bed.  
  
"Hey! You're awake! Almost no one thought you'd make it! My name is Ashley Winchester! I wanna be a merc, so I volunteered to help out around here for a while! What's your name?" he said. Jahara just blinked.  
  
"Wow, that was a mouthful! My name is…um…Jahara…I think…" she stuttered. Ashley smiled.  
  
"I like that name! The doctor said you'd probably have amnesia or something 'cause you injured your head real bad, but that's a pretty memorable name! I'll go tell the doctor you're awake!" Ashley walked into the doctor's office and peeked in the doorway and saw the doctor talking to a tall young nobleman that was on crutches. Ashley stepped in so the doctor would notice him, but wouldn't be intruding on the conversation.  
  
"Welcome back to Meria, Sir Valeria! How have you been since your accident?" the doctor asked.  
  
"I'm fine, but I'm still getting used to these crutches. Oh, and you don't have to call me 'Sir', just Irvine will do," he corrected. They laughed and the doctor noticed Ashley standing in the corner.  
  
"Oh, Ashley! Come in boy! What is it?" he asked. Ashley walked up to the desk excitedly.  
  
"It's the girl that the mercs brought in! She woke up!" The doctor was quite surprised as Irvine listened curiously.  
  
"Why didn't you say so in the first place?! I thought she would be a goner for sure! Excuse me Si…I mean, Irvine!" As the doctor slipped on his jacket, Irvine stopped him.  
  
"Who is this girl everyone's been fussing about?" he asked. The doctor turned around and picked up his medical bag.  
  
"Well, she is the only known survivor of that unidentified airship that crashed nearby a few days ago! When the mercs brought her in, she was unconscious, her clothes were ragged, and she even looked as though she'd been through a lot before the crash as well, with injuries that seemed older and further healed than those she received in the crash. But we don't know who she is or where she's from. She doesn't look like she's from anywhere around here. This girl's been in a coma for the past three days, probably from loss of blood and injuries. For a while, we thought she'd never wake up..." he replied. Irvine made a half-smile.  
  
"Well, I'd like to meet this girl."  
  
After checking her out, the doctor and Ashley left. (Actually, a nurse pulled Ashley out by the ear because he hadn't finished doing the laundry!) Irvine came in. He sat down in the chair next to Jahara and set his crutches against the wall. She looked over at him with her large emerald- green eyes and pushed her blonde hair out of her face.  
  
"Who are you?" she asked.  
  
"I am Sir Irvine Valeria. What is your name?" he introduced. She sat up.  
  
"My name is Jahara Sanzami. I'm almost certain of it! I don't remember anything else though," she answered.  
  
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Jahara. You're a very strong girl to have been the only survivor of that crash! Is that your staff over there?" Irvine said. Jahara looked at the tall, lonely staff in the corner.  
  
"Well…I guess so. That's all I have. That and this choker," she said, raising her chin up a bit to reveal a loose golden choker. Embedded in the center of the thick gold band was a sea-blue jewel roughly in the shape of a tear. Irvine briefly examined it, noticing there was no clasp or any way to remove it from her neck.  
  
"How odd…you can't take it off!" Jahara shook her head and looked back at the staff.  
  
"I tripped over that staff in the wreckage, so I used it as a support to get away. I don't think I got very far though," she answered. There was a short silence between them. Jahara focused her eyes downward, holding back her tears and clutching her sheets tightly in her small delicate hands. "It was horrible being caught in there! The air all around it was thick with the stench of molten steel, burning flesh and blood…but it was almost as though something deep inside was pushing me to get free and not give up, even if I had no clue as to where I was going." Jahara looked up into Irvine's misty gray-blue eyes. "So I was the only survivor? Whatever that was the wreckage of, it was huge! I was the only one left?!" she said, raising her voice a little bit. Irvine nodded his head in reply. Jahara laid back down, pulling the sheets tightly around her. "What will I do now? I don't have anywhere to go, and I don't remember anything! What will happen to me?" she asked. Irvine thought about this for a second.  
  
"You'll probably be here for a while, but I'll come to visit you soon, okay?" he said. Jahara nodded her head. After talking for a while, Irvine left…  
  
A week later…  
  
Jahara had recovered enough to walk around and leave the clinic. She was temporarily staying at the inn and had become good friends with Ashley and his friend Marina. Jahara stayed there for free because she often helped with the chores and didn't have anywhere else to go anyway.  
  
"Come on Marina! Admit it! You DO have a big crush on Ashley!" Jahara said to Marina. Marina's face turned red.  
  
"Hey! I do not! We're just really good friends! That's all there is to it! However did you get that idea?!" she said defensively. Jahara giggled. The two girls sat on a bed in Jahara's room.  
  
"Well, I can see why you would like him – he's really cute, sweet, and has a good sense of humor! Every time you talk to him, your face gets all red and your voice stutters!" Jahara replied, still giggling. Then, they heard a knock on the door. Marina got up and opened the door. It was Ashley! Marina blushed and her voice stuttered.  
  
"A…Ashley! Wha…What are you doing he…here?" she asked shakily.  
  
"Hah! It's true! You're doing it now!" Jahara said behind Marina. Marina's face blushed even more.  
  
"Marina, your father told me to tell you that you need to start your chores," Ashley explained. Without saying a word, Marina rushed down the stairs to do her work. Ashley stepped in the doorway. By now, Jahara was rolling on the bed in laughter. She sat up and tried to stop laughing. "Jahara? There's someone here to see you," Ashley told her. He walked out of the room and she heard someone slowly coming in.  
  
"Miss Jahara?" It was Irvine!  
  
"Sir Irvine? You came back just like you said you would! You're sooo nice!" she said happily.  
  
"Really? You think so?" Irvine replied, puzzled. Jahara nodded and smiled.  
  
"Yeah! Otherwise you wouldn't have come back!" she told him. Irvine smiled back.  
  
"Well, I guess you're right then." He asked how she was doing and if her recovery went smoothly and if she remembered anything else. She answered 'Yeah! I feel great!' and 'No, I don't remember anything else!' Irvine thought for a second. "I talked to some of the mercs that brought you into town. They said that they found you quite a long way away from the wreckage. Did you walk that far?" he asked. She nodded. "It must have taken a lot of strength and courage to pull yourself that far, Jahara." She looked up at him.  
  
"Well, I was really scared. My whole body hurt, but I couldn't stay there!" she explained.  
  
"You were very brave. And because you were so strong, I'll let you in on a secret, but only if you promise to never tell another soul!" he said. Jahara's eyes sparkled with curiosity.  
  
"A secret? I won't tell!" she said excitedly. Irvine laughed a bit.  
  
"Enthusiastic! I like that. All right. Do you like fairy tales? The ones with the brave knights who help people in need?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah! It probably sounds silly, but I want to be like a knight and help anyone who needs me! People help me all the time, so I'd like to help someone else for once," she answered.  
  
"Well, that's good! I'm going to form a group of people like you. Sort of like a group of knights," he explained. "…Soon, our world, Filgaia, will greatly need its heroes, its knights, to defend it from all trouble and disaster." Jahara was very confused by this, but she decided that it would be best not to ask. Jahara looked down at her hands in her lap.  
  
"But, what can I do? I'm only thirteen!" she said. Irvine gently put his hand to her cheek and she looked up at him with sad eyes.  
  
"You may be only but a child now, but I can tell there is a strong power within you that has yet to be awakened. Don't be discouraged, everyone has some kind of power within them, but not everyone knows how to release it. As you grow older, that power will increase and you will have the strength to let it out and protect the ones you care about!" he explained. He wiped her eyes and she smiled again.  
  
"You're so nice Sir Irvine! Thank you." She leaned forward and hugged him. She pulled back and looked at the lonely staff in the corner of the room. The owner of the weapon shop had cleaned the dirt and blood splotches off and polished it. It glistened beautifully in the morning sunlight. "Sir Irvine? What do you think about that staff? Whenever I'm around it, I get this weird feeling. So far, it's brought me a lot of good luck, but it seems like it has more of a purpose than that," she asked him. He looked at the beautiful gold and silver staff and thought.  
  
"I'm not an expert on staffs, but it looks like a magic staff that Crest Sorceresses use. Only, this one is very different in design and has an unusual dark orb at the top. If you'd like, I could have the specialists of Sielje Region examine it, but my best guess is that it is a Mage staff," he assumed. Jahara looked back at the staff.  
  
"Wow, I would've never guessed! A mage's staff…" she said to herself. After a short moment of silence, she spoke up. "Um, Sir Irvine? If it is a magic staff, could I be taught to use it? Could I be one of your knights?" she asked nervously. Irvine looked down at her.  
  
"Of course. People of all ages can learn how to use magic! And with your strength, courage, and kindness, you more than qualify to be a knight, but you may want to start training now!" he answered.  
  
"Yay! I'll try my best!" she promised. Irvine smiled. Then, they heard a knock on the door. It slightly opened and Ashley poked his head inside.  
  
"Sir Valeria? Your sister is back!" he told him. Irvine nodded and Jahara helped him back onto his crutches. He walked over to the door and turned around.  
  
"Jahara, there's one more thing I'd like to ask – where will you go when you can no longer stay at the inn?" he asked. Jahara thought.  
  
"Well, I don't really know," she replied. She shrugged.  
  
"Well, if you want, you can come and live with me at the Valeria Chateau. Altaecia and I would be more than willing to let you live there as long as you need," he offered. Jahara perked up.  
  
"Really?! Do you really mean it? I'd love to!" she answered. "…If its not too much trouble that is!" Irvine smiled.  
  
"You can come whenever you're ready," he said. Jahara gave him one more big hug before he left…  
  
Within the next few days, Jahara moved in with Irvine and his twin sister, Altaecia in their home, the Valeria Chateau. Once she moved in, Irvine had some of Sielje's top specialists examine Jahara's staff. They concluded that it was definitely a magical staff, but its power was unidentifiable—unlike anything they'd ever seen before! With that, Jahara trained extensively with her staff, determined to become a great Magess one day, and eventually became the only one who could use its magic correctly. But, although she was very skilled at her magic, by her nature, she was a bit of a klutz and would occasionally mess up a spell or teleport to the exact opposite of where she wanted to go. Her level of skill and strength had doubled by the time she was sixteen. Only with a strong heart and the desire to keep moving forward can one face destiny head-on and not fall back…well, not too much! 


	2. So We Meet Again!

1 Notes: So how was the prologue? I hope it wasn't too painful to read. ^.^; Sorry I twisted things up a little (and I apologize ahead of time, 'cause it gets worse! ^^;). I was really bored and had to think of somewhere for Jahara to go, so Irvine adopted her. (that's not too terribly bad is it?) Anyways, here's the first real chapter. But please know that I've got a bad thing about changing things up frequently, so from here on out, anything may be subject to modification. *Sweatdrop* okay, I'm just babbling now, I'll stop so you can continue to read. ^_~; (by the way, the way I wrote the layout of the Valeria Chateau is kinda confusing, but I may straighten that out eventually)  
  
2  
  
3 Chapter 1  
  
It was a hot sunny morning on the plains of Meria Boule, especially to the two youths on their way to the Valeria Chateau. Ashley kept a steady pace, his bayonet leaning on his shoulder, as he trudged through the dry, dusty plains. They also passed the Sword Cathedral which was currently under minor repairs after the terrorist attack a few days ago. Lilka bobbed around behind him, her umbrella shielding her from the hot sun and finishing a jelly roll before it melted.  
  
"Mmm…wow Ashley! You're aunt makes the best jelly rolls ever! She was so nice to give me some!" Ashley smiled.  
  
"Yeah, that's why she owns the bakery! She can make almost any kind of bread or pastry!" Lilka gulped down the last bite and sped up next to him.  
  
"I bet they have some pretty good food at the Valeria Chateau! Ohhhh…I'm still hungry! I hope they can make us lunch when we get there!"  
  
"Hope so," Ashley replied. He moved his bayonet to the other shoulder to look down at her. "By the way, why are you supposed to go there anyway? Not to be prying into your business, of course," he asked casually. Lilka adjusted her umbrella and looked up at him.  
  
"Actually, my older sister was supposed to come. Recently, she got an invitation from Sir Valeria saying that they needed her skills. I don't know why, though," Lilka answered. Ashley looked confused. Lilka turned her gaze back in front of her. "But sis couldn't come, so I'm going in her place," she finished. Ashley noticed a hint of sadness or something in her gaze as her words trailed off. "But I don't know if they'll accept me. I'm still learning magic, but I'm nowhere as good as my big sis." Her thoughts drifted off. Ashley was a little concerned for the young sorceress. He put a hand on her shoulder and smiled.  
  
"Don't worry, I'm sure they can use you! Just be positive!" he reassured. Lilka's cheeks blushed a little as she smiled and looked back up him.  
  
"Thanks Ashley! I'll do my best! Yeah! Someday I'll be just as good as my sister!" she said positively. She looked ahead and saw something in the distance. "Hey, is that the Chateau?" Ashley looked in the same direction, squinting his eyes a little.  
  
"Hmm…Yes, I think it is!" he said, relieved. They picked up the pace, eager to reach their destination quickly.  
  
Ashley and Lilka walked through the courtyard and up the steps. A tall guard answered the door.  
  
"Excuse me, we're here to see Sir Valeria!" Lilka stated.  
  
"Do you have an appointment?" he asked. Lilka dug out an envelope and held it up. The guard nodded and pointed to a large doorway behind him. "Take that hallway to the elevator. Sir Valeria should be on the second or third floor. Just don't get lost, okay?" They nodded and followed the guard's directions, but it was quite difficult not getting lost in the huge mansion.  
  
They searched the entire second floor. It was beautifully decorated, much like the Meria Boule castle. Sunlight shined in through the large windows, illuminating the hallways, and everyone there was so kind, but unfortunately their instructions didn't help much.  
  
"Maybe he's on the third floor?" Ashley suggested. Lilka nodded.  
  
"Maybe. At least his sister was kind enough to give us something quick to eat when we found the kitchen," Lilka replied. They walked up to the elevator and pushed the 'up' button. But as the door began to open, someone, who obviously wasn't paying any attention at all, came out of the elevator and ran smack into them; all three crashing to the floor.  
  
"Yahhh!"  
  
"Eeek!"  
  
"Ouch!"  
  
The person, who was a tall slender woman about Ashley's age, sat up and shook her head; messy, waist-length blonde hair tumbling around her.  
  
"Huh? Oh dear! I'm so sorry!" she quickly apologized, got up, and helped them up.  
  
"That's okay! Um, do you live here?" Lilka asked, dusting herself off. The woman nodded.  
  
"Yes, of course! Can I help you with anything?" she answered.  
  
"Great! Do you by any chance know where Sir Valeria is?"  
  
"Well, I haven't seen him around in a while, but he's probably in his room. Would you like me to show you where it is?" the woman offered. The two nodded. She turned to lead them, but suddenly stopped. "Oh! How rude of me! I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Jahara, what are your names?" she asked. Lilka stepped forward.  
  
"My name is Lilka Eleniak! Pleased to meetcha!" she introduced. Ashley stepped up next to her.  
  
"And I'm Ashley Winchester. Hey, have we met somewhere before? Your name sounds familiar!" he said. Jahara thought back and remembered something.  
  
"Yeah! I remember you! You're the boy from Meria! It's nice to see you again! You've gotten…taller! And much more handsome!" she complemented. Ashley's entire face grew bright red and Jahara lead them to Irvine's room. Lilka giggled and poked his red cheeks. *^.^*  
  
"It's right down this hall!" She looked over her shoulder at them as they walked. "If he's not in the meeting room, he's in his bedroom. Irvine is such a nice guy, but you shouldn't make him mad. Believe me, it gets scary when he's mad! Oh, and be careful not to trip on this carpet! It gets me all the time!…Yeek!" she said. She fell forward, taking Ashley and Lilka down with her.  
  
"Ouchies…" At that moment, Irvine slowly came around the corner on his crutches and saw all three jumbled up in a pile in the middle of the hall.  
  
"Normally that would look pretty strange, but with Jahara around, it's quite a common sight…" Irvine commented. He kept walking to his room.  
  
"Well, umm…now he's in his room!" Jahara said. She looked up from the bottom of the pile. Lilka pulled Ashley off and they all got up.  
  
"Um…anyway…thank you Jahara!" Ashley said.  
  
"Erm…You're welcome!" she replied and hurried off in the direction of the kitchen. "It was nice to meet you two! Seeya!" she called behind her. They just stared oddly at her for a second until she whipped around the corner.  
  
"Strange girl…" Ashley said. Lilka agreed and they wobbled into Irvine's room.  
  
Jahara took the elevator back down and eventually made her way back to her bedroom. She closed the door behind her and walked to her bed, but she accidentally tripped on something on the floor and ended up falling onto the bed instead.  
  
"Owwie…today just isn't my day!" She rolled over and stared up at the ceiling. Today had been particularly exhausting. That morning during training, she'd accidentally cast a rain spell inside the Chateau (but everything was dry now) and also teleported by accident to the top of Mt. Chug-Chug instead of the first floor to help clean up the rainwater. Today's moral, she thought, never try to shortcut short distances unless you really know what you're doing! But the day hadn't been all that bad. "I did get to see Ashley again. It's been, what—four, five years? Has it really been that long? Time goes by too fast for me to keep up! ^^; He's changed a lot, but I don't think I have very much. And that girl he was with, Lilka, I don't remember her, but she seems nice too. Hmm, I wonder what they're doing here?" She closed her eyes and began to drift off to sleep...  
  
A few hours later, Jahara woke to the loud sound of a gunshot coming from the direction of Irvine's room. Instinctively, she got up and ran through the hallway to investigate. When she got there, guards were dragging Ashley off while Lilka looked to Irvine confusingly. Jahara burst into the room, forcing her way past the guards.  
  
"Irvine! What happened?! Is everyone alright?! Where are they taking Ashley?!" she asked frantically. Irvine turned to her and Lilka with a serious expression.  
  
"Ashley is being taken to the Prison Island of Illsveil! Jahara, Lilka! I want you two to escort him there! This is your first mission as members of ARMS!" he ordered. Both Lilka and Jahara were surprised, not only that Ashley was being arrested, but neither of them had known the other was also an ARMS member. Without another word, the two new teammates reluctantly dashed off to accompany Ashley on his way to prison… 


	3. Illsveil Prison Island

Notes: Alrighty! Now onto Chapter three! This un's a bit long, but I think 'ya can manage, right? Good. And remember, please review! Pwetty pwease? Come on people! . I wanna know what you think!  
  
  
  
Illsveil Prison Island  
  
  
  
The convoy vessel creaked and swayed as it neared its destination. Ashley sat alone in the damp, miserable cell, trying not to think of what life in prison would be like. A scruffy-looking guard rattled the bars of his cell as he passed by, laughing.  
  
"I shouldn't be here! I'm really innocent!" Ashley yelled out to no one in particular. The guard looked over his shoulder at Ashley.  
  
"Ha! That's what they all say when they hear they're going to Illsveil! Ha, ha, ha…" The guard left and around the other corner came Jahara and Lilka. The guard's laughter echoed in the halls.  
  
"Hm! People like him make me so mad!" Jahara picked up a rock by her foot and tossed it, conveniently thwacking the annoying guard in the head. "You! It's not your job to taunt people! ." Ashley sat back down, feeling even more frustrated, leaning his head against the bars. Lilka reached through the bars, putting a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Don't worry, Ashley! We know you're innocent, and we'll prove it!" she said, reassuring him. Ashley looked up at her with hopeful eyes.  
  
"Yeah, I hope so! I don't want to spend the rest of my life in prison!" Jahara patted his head.  
  
"You won't be here long! Just as soon as we can get the truth through these people's thick heads!" she commented, glaring in the direction the guard went.  
  
Lilka and Jahara sat down on the bench across from Ashley's cell. Jahara still looked puzzled.  
  
"What's wrong? Something bothering you?" Lilka asked.  
  
"Yes, actually. Why is Ashley being sent to Illsveil? He's not exactly the type to go around committing some horrible crime!" she replied. Lilka sighed.  
  
"I'm not really sure either, but while we were talking to Irvine, he asked to see his bayonet and purposely shot it off and gave it back to Ashley when you and the guards came in! I have no idea why, but he told them he was a traitor and ordered us all to Illsveil!" Now Jahara was even more confused.  
  
"I don't get it! Irvine has been known to do some odd things, but this…it doesn't make sense!"  
  
  
  
They arrived at Illsveil shortly thereafter. It was a gloomy place indeed; not at all the "paradise" the other convicts dryly joked about. After Ashley and several other new prisoners met with the warden, they were hauled off to their cells. Of course, Lilka and Jahara stayed with Ashley.  
  
"Just lay low for a while and we'll straighten things out!"  
  
"We'll talk to the warden. I'm sure if they checked the case out, you'd be proven innocent!" Lilka was miffed.  
  
"Y'know, if I wanted to, I could probably blast you out with magic!" she boasted. But just at that moment, the alarm sirens went off and guards scattered. "Eeek! Hey, that wasn't me! O.o" Jahara looked as if she had an idea.  
  
"Hey, maybe we could use this confusion as a chance to break you out!" she suggested. A wide grin spread across Lilka's face.  
  
"Yeah! All we need to do is find the confiscated weapons and a key, and we're outta here!" Ashley looked at them skeptically.  
  
"*sweatdrop* 'Lay low, we'll talk to the warden' they said…this won't work! ~_~;" Ashley said to himself. The girls looked back at him.  
  
"Don't worry! We'll be right back!" Ashley sighed as they skittered off…  
  
"Poor Ashley, I hate leaving him alone in there! I used to pull a lot of pranks when I was little and got locked in the closet for it, and that's kinda like being in prison, right?" Lilka said as they dashed through the halls.  
  
"Really? I was always just sent to my room if I messed something up," Jahara replied. They kept running and came across a pack of Barghests and Empusas that didn't even look the least bit friendly. "A round-up team, right?"  
  
"Come and get it!" Both sorceresses unleashed a flurry of spells; Jahara's ice spells froze the monsters in place while Lilka's Spark spell finished them off.  
  
"Whew! That wasn't too hard! Hey you're pretty good! I can see why Irvine would choose you for ARMS!" Jahara commented.  
  
"Actually, I wasn't the one chosen by Irvine; it was my sister, but she couldn't come," Lilka corrected.  
  
"Oh yeah? Well, you're good enough!" Lilka was about to reply, but they had to make a run when another alarm sounded and another round of capture monsters tore rabidly through the halls…  
  
  
  
The cell door clicked as they pulled it open to release a very relieved gun warrior.  
  
"Okay Ashley! Here's your stuff!" Lilka handed Ashley his stuff one by one as he quickly strapped it on. Jahara stood at the doorway keeping watch. She looked down the hallway and heard the door begin to click, obviously someone trying force the lock open.  
  
"Hey, are you ready yet? I think someone's coming!" Ashley strapped on the last of his gear and they all bolted down the hallway. They punched in a few commands at the nearest control panel to open the door ahead of them. It beeped and the door creaked open. Lilka and Ashley rushed through it, but Jahara hung back to check it for an update on the chaos.  
  
"……………Intruders identified…….two armed men in the vicinity………release more monsters………capture them and all escapees at all costs, dead or alive…………" it bleeped out. Jahara was relived, yet concerned at the same time.  
  
"Good, it wasn't us who caused it, but who are these 'two armed men'? Why are they releasing the prisoners…?" Her thoughts drifted until the loud clank of the other door snapped her out of it. She quickly turned the panel off and hurried after her allies. Behind her, she heard yelling followed by a series of gunshots and the opening of rusty cell doors…  
  
  
  
Jahara caught up with Ashley and Lilka in the next room full of cells. She told them what she'd heard from the control panel. Lilka walked out in front, peeking into each cell as she passed it.  
  
"All of these are empty! The intruders must have already come through here!" she observed.  
  
The alarms continued to ring out. Their pathway was littered with dead locks, bullets, and the bodies of resistant guards. Every cell door hung open, except one. All three noticed and peeked in.  
  
A lonely prisoner sat on the floor against the wall of his tiny dark cell. Without a word, he looked up with sullen gold eyes. Jahara and Lilka hid behind Ashley.  
  
"Were you sent by Irvine?" he briefly said.  
  
"…………"  
  
"Well?" They hesitated to answer. The prisoner sighed. "We're not communicating well here. Were you sent by Irvine?" Ashley spoke up.  
  
"I guess, but how did you know?"  
  
Lilka poked Ashley's shoulder.  
  
"Hey! Remember when Irvine said we were only two out of the four members of ARMS? Jahara was the third, so he may be the fourth!" she suggested. Ashley unlocked the cell. The prisoner got up, standing at least a foot taller than Ashley. He took a second to look them over, noticing a pair of mechanical gloves in their bag of equipment. He pulled them out with a long, heavily muscled arm and put them on.  
  
"Thanks. These are mine, by the way. Irvine has already informed me of everything. I am Death Row Inmate No. 666. Brad Evans. I knew it had to be you, 'cause you're all too young and baby-faced to be any of the inmates here," he explained. "You already know the plan, right?" They were about to answer, but Brad was already halfway down the hall before they could say anything. He kicked a control panel with one of his massive boots and the door opened. The group had no choice but to follow…  
  
Brad kicked down the last door and they found themselves back at the entrance and almost home-free until the Warden stepped out of another room and in front of the door.  
  
"Ha! You won't be leaving so easily! No one comes to Illsveil and comes out alive!! GAONIM!! Come take care of these worthless escapees!" Just as his words trailed away, a gigantic rusty old robot came barreling into the room and automatically began to attack the ARMS team. It swung its giant rusty claw and the team scattered across the room.  
  
"Ack! How uncoordinated! We won't get anywhere like this!" Jahara thought aloud. Brad smirked.  
  
"Order won't do us any good here! Just give 'em all you got!" Taking his own advice, he strapped on a heavy ARM and fired away. The robot was pushed back by the impact. Following Brad's lead, everyone else released their best ammunition as rapidly as possible.  
  
Despite GAONIM's rusty old appearance, it was quite powerful and ARM's attacks didn't seem to be making much progress. After fighting for hours, Lilka huffed and her knees felt weak.  
  
"If we make it out of this alive, remind me to take up an endurance course next time I go back to the academy!" she commented as she weakly dodged the swinging claw. Jahara glanced tiredly at Lilka and nodded; the long fight was depleting her magic energy also. She was about to say something when she looked up to see GAONIM's deadly-sharp teeth coming her way--faster than she could dodge!  
  
But before anyone could react at all, Jahara felt something inside snap and as if she had lost control of her own body, she raised her staff and released a massive spiral wave of dark magical power unlike anything she'd ever done before. The wave ran straight through GAONIM, stopping it instantly. The room was silent and dead still.  
  
All Jahara could hear was her own heavy breathing and the beating of a heart. Her vision blurred and faded away as she slipped out of consciousness and collapsed onto the floor.  
  
The last thing she heard was a low, haunting voice in the back of her mind, "Rest up. You've done well. For now, you are 'you' and I am 'me'. But soon, I'll be 'me' and I'll throw 'you' away..." And everything went black... 


	4. The Beginning of ARMS

Notes: Ooh, creepy ending for that last chapter! O.o Ah well, that wasn't too bad, eh? Hrm... I warn ya' 'cause this chapter gets kinda weird...and just so you know, I get bored a lot and I have a bad habit of coming up with odd pairings. This one wasn't twisted around as bad as some of my other fics...Dun worry, I'm sure you'll figure that out the more you read on! *hint, hint, nudge, nudge* By the way, another original character will be introduced so watch out for her! (she's © to my friend, and was just recently added, but Jahara is mine) ^_~; Anywayz, I hope you enjoy it! ^^  
  
Chapter 3  
  
  
  
Jahara slowly came to and found herself being quickly carried out of Illsveil. She blinked a few times, yawned, and leaped out of Brad's arms.  
  
"?!"  
  
Jahara smiled. "Thanks, but I'm alright! I can walk now!" Their puzzled expressions only confused her. "What? Was it something I did?" Ashley shook his head.  
  
"No, it's just odd that you passed out a while ago and now it's like nothing ever happened. Just the quickest natural recovery I've ever seen!" Jahara shrugged her shoulders and continued to walk with them.  
  
With Brad leading them, they turned the corner and found Irvine waiting for them. Brad seemed relieved, but Ashley and Lilka stomped up to him angrily. Lilka was about to say something, but Ashley's fist decided to do the talking instead.  
  
Jahara's heart skipped a beat when she saw the nobleman go flying.  
  
"Yeek! Irvine!" Jahara ran over to him. Ashley stared down at him coldly.  
  
"What was the big idea?! You can't just use us as pawns like that ever again!" Irvine looked up at Ashley with one eye, as the other was blackening.  
  
"I'm terribly sorry I had to put you all through that. I admit my actions were a bit extreme, but otherwise, you'd never have gotten in, much less gotten Brad out. I guess I deserved that," he admitted. Jahara picked up Irvine's crutches and helped him up. Ashley calmed down and reluctantly did the same. As soon as Irvine was up, their ship pulled around the corner and they helped him aboard.  
  
They all entered the boat, but as usual, Jahara lagged behind. While everyone was loading their stuff and Irvine onboard, she looked back at the old prison behind them. The skies were very dark, and it was beginning to lightly rain. Jahara gazed across the gloomy complex and even up to the lookout tower that loomed over the island. But something was odd about it. She focused her large green eyes on the tower's top.  
  
"What is that?" She squinted and looked harder into the distance until she could make out what was up there. It didn't help that it was beginning to rain, but she was determined to figure it out.  
  
She held out her staff in front of her and whispered a spell under her breath. While the others were loading the ship, they didn't seem to notice Jahara as she disappeared in a discreet swirl of magic mist...  
  
  
  
Jahara reappeared at the top of the tower, already with a temporary invisibility spell to hide her form. She leaned against the low wall and put a hand on the creaky railing. The lookout station was tiny, so she didn't have to look far. To her surprise, there was a man standing directly across from her. He was timidly looking around the island. It was a good thing that Irvine's ship was hidden behind the cliffs.  
  
"Thank Ge Ramtos he can't see or hear me! Hee, hee..." She walked a little closer to the strange man. He was a tall, gorgeous young man with short silvery-white hair and wore a pair of small glasses that he pushed back up every now and then. Hanging from his waist was a hefty gun belt with several different guns hooked to it. He didn't look like a prisoner, but Jahara didn't seem to be taking much notice; she'd already fallen for the mysterious man at first sight.  
  
"Wow! He's sooooooo cute!!!! " she said to herself. His hair gently rustled in the sea breeze and her heart seemed melted to the point where she almost fell off the tower. "Eeek!" she squeaked out loud. The man turned and looked around cautiously. Jahara caught sight of his cold, beautiful ice- blue eyes that shot straight through her soul and could barely regain her balance.  
  
"What? Is anyone there?! Hmm... probably just the guys below," he said. The man was obviously very edgy and in his own thoughts as he kept careful watch over the island. Jahara straightened and heard a tiny beeping sound. The guy took a small radio-communicator from his belt and pushed a few buttons.  
  
A vague, fuzzy voice came out, "Hey Judecca! Ptolomea here. All the prisoners are free and ready to go as soon as you can get Varukisas here!" the voice said.  
  
"Good. Varukisas is already on the way. It'll probably land on the other end of the island. I'll keep watch until you guys are aboard," he said. Jahara was nearly drooling.  
  
"And he's got such a smooth voice too! But what is he doing here? Oh well, that doesn't really matter…if only I could get over there!" She just stared for another few minutes, completely lovesick. Just when she'd almost completely forgotten what was going on, she began to step closer and closer. She was almost a foot away from him when she noticed that the spell was wearing off. "Ack!" Since the spell effects were weakening, the man could just barely hear her footsteps. Before he could whip around to see whatever was there, she'd already used her magic and gotten away. He turned around quickly, guns drawn and ready to blast the first thing he saw. Until he discovered that nothing was there. He looked around nervously.  
  
"What is going on?! First there is someone else running around here besides us and the prisoners, and then I start hearing things! Hmm... no good..."  
  
  
  
Brad and Ashley were standing on the ship's damp deck, looking out at the sea behind them as it sailed farther and farther away from the island. Ashley sighed in relief to be out of that hellhole, but Brad continued to gaze out with the same serious expression. Ashley looked up at him.  
  
"So...what was it like to be an inmate at Illsveil? How long were you there?" he asked, trying to make conversation.  
  
Without shifting gaze or emotion, he simply replied, "About five, four, maybe even six years."  
  
Ashley got the impression that Brad didn't want to talk about it. "So..." It was a creepy silence. Then Brad turned to Ashley as if he'd thought of something.  
  
"Hey, Ashley. What exactly is that girl, the blonde?" Brad asked. Ashley was puzzled.  
  
"Just a normal girl like any other I know," he replied. "Why?"  
  
Brad turned his gaze back out to sea. "Nothing. But remember when GAONIM almost ate her? Remember her last attack? For a split-second at that very moment, it looked like she was someone else."  
  
Ashley gave him a sideways look. "Maybe it was a spell. How so...?"  
  
"It was too quick to see much, but...it's hard to describe. But I've never heard of a shape-shifting spell. Something just didn't seem right..."  
  
Ashley looked out also, pondering. As he started to think, something flashed behind him.  
  
"What the?!" Before either Brad or Ashley could react, they turned around only to make an awkward attempt to try and catch clumsy Jahara who fell out of a tele-portal about five feet above them.  
  
"Ack! Where'd you come from?" Ashley asked. Jahara shook her head, a bit disoriented still, and pointed in the direction of the prison. Brad gave her a sideways look.  
  
"I'm not even gonna ask. Just don't lag behind anymore, okay?" Jahara nodded smiled weakly.  
  
  
  
"Where have you been?!" Irvine yelled.  
  
"Yahhh! Sorry!" she apologized. Brad and Ashley ended up carrying Jahara to the ship's meeting room. They put her back on her feet and Irvine calmed down.  
  
"Jahara you really need to stop wandering off! But I can't get too mad because you all did very well today." As soon as Lilka came in, everyone sat down while Irvine began to explain something. Ashley and Brad paid attention, Lilka started dozing off as if she was in class, and Jahara was busy daydreaming.  
  
"That guy…I can't stop thinking about him! He was sooo cute, no…more like HOT!!! Hee, hee! I wonder what he was doing there! Oh well…I probably won't see him again though... She daydreamed. She snapped out of it when the point in Irvine's speech where he began to lecture Jahara in front of everyone about not staying together. She only caught the end of it and Irvine glared at her like an angry parent.  
  
"Uh, oh...I'm in trouble!!" she said to herself.  
  
"Jahara! What were you doing?! Do you know how dangerous that could have been?!" he shouted at her. Everyone jumped in their seats at Irvine's tone of voice. "I don't want anyone to just wander off anymore. Understood?" he commanded. Jahara nodded and sunk into her seat, embarrassed to melting point. Ashley, Lilka, and Brad just looked terrified.  
  
Ashley leaned over to Lilka and whispered in her ear, "Hey, do you think this is what Jahara meant when she warned us not to make Irvine mad?" Lilka nodded nervously in agreement. 


End file.
